Sometimes at dinner, as with in life, a curve ball is thrown your way and a sudden change of plans happens resulting in an unexpected and delightful adventure. Whether it be getting lost in a foreign land, learning your new lover is a distant relative or a bachelor party that ends with burying a dead hooker in the Nevada desert. Learn to expect the unexpected to live your best Oprah-approved life. So let’s say you and 10 close friends were planning on visiting a hot new San Diego Southern Americana restaurant only to discover an empty place with a note on the door.
I was going to brand this apology empty and meaningless, until I saw the “truly”, then I felt bad.
With this unexpected left turn, Aimee had already scoped out possible alternative restaurants that were nearby, in the same price range and met the one requirement of this challenge: I’ve never been there. After a quick group vote, we wound next door at Muzito’s Abyssinian Bistro. They were super awesome about getting our group in without a reservation and packed us like cattle in the back 40 of the rather small restaurant. Testing fate with this sudden new adventure with me were:
Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many
Amy-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner
Brad-Rocky Horror performer, Fluent in most nerdisms, Still thinks Miley Cyrus is sexy
Christine-Singer, puppet enthusiast, Sit next to her at a wedding. You’ll thank me.
David-Technical writer, singer, robot super villian
Kevin-SoCal Rocky Horror legend, IT wunderkind, Owns a Shakeweight for sheer entertainment value
Ky-Rocky Horror performer, Disneyland enthusiast, Roommate of Brad
Mandy-Writer, Top-shelf level geek girl, lives in my pocket
Sean-Former “Ambassador to Spain”, Halloween spookster, A picky eater like me
Suzanne-My Italian soul sista, Can throw down in the kitchen, the cultured one who pronounces everything correctly
Only the closest friends can share food with no utensils in places other than prison.
The interior of Muzita was small but charming and romantic. Great date night spot. The servers were friendly and super knowledgeable about the food. They didn’t even laugh when we demolished the names of EVERYTHING. Muzita specializes in Ethiopian (or Abyssinian for you OG’s) food. The menu is full of meaty as well as vegetarian and vegan choices. For starters, some cocktails were had. David ordered the mule (a popular and refreshing highball mixed drink of vodka and ginger beer) which he enjoyed. Christine enjoyed the Mango Martini and Amy ordered two different African beers; a Hakim Stout, which she described as a “sweeter version of Newcastle” and a Tusker Lager, hilariously named for the elephant that killed one of the breweries founders. I can’t make this shit up, y’all. The food was all brought to us family style and encouraged to be eaten by hand on Injera, which is is a sourdough-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour (amesege’nallo’, wikipedia!)
The cover of this plate was originally worn by Marlo Thomas in a particularly offensive episode of “Kung Fu”*
*I just made that up
Since everything was spread out on our giant plate, I’ll just list off what all we had: Shiro (Eritrean Style Seasoned Ground Chickpeas), Hamli (Braised Spinach & Collard Greens), Beggie Kilwa (Sautéed New Zealand Leg Of Lamb), Prawn Kilwa (Mess Marinated Prawns with House Herb Blend White Wine Awaze Sauce), Timtimo (
Eaten traditional style with each bite of food wrapped in a piece of what Suzanne describes as an “Organic Shamwow”
This was an immensely satisfying dining experience. There was so much going on on this plate. An literal explosion of flavors with sweet richness and spice. The lentils were fantastic with a strong showing from the lamb and the HUGE prawns on the plate. One of the most popular items was the cabbage. More than a few folks listed it as their favorite.
Aimee enjoyed the interactive nature of eating family style and said the cabbage was “The business”. She is dedicated to figuring out how to duplicate the recipe. David (the only person in the group who had been here before) loved the chicken and has always been a fan of “eating with an ACE bandage”. Amy enjoyed the tastes and textures of the vegetables. She also loved the cabbage and enjoyed the selection of beers, many of which she’d never heard of. Kevin was able to get his food modified spice-wise but would tone down the onions in the future. Christine enjoyed the flavor and lack of fattyness of her lamb. She also loved the cabbage, an ordinarily “Humble” vegetable’s chance to shine here.
Suzanne found everything perfectly cooked with a great delicate sauce. She officially branded the cabbage the “hidden gem” of this place with perfectly balanced sweetness. Did I mention folks loved this damn cabbage? Brad said the spice level of his dinner was perfect. He loved the tenderness of the meat and was a big fan of the lentils. Ky was happy (as was I) to see jalapenos added to the lamb for extra heat. She admitted that this meal was her first time ever having lentils and she loved them. Sean, while skeptical at first, said everything was delicious with great spice. Mandy also loved the flavors without the spice getting out of hand in each dish. She also praised the lentils.
Our server told us that there are no Ethiopian desserts (no wonder they always stay so fabulously thin! Yeah, I’m going to hell for that one) but Muzita does offer a few dishes that look a bit more familiar to the less worldly palette. Folks shared the Kahlua Chocolate Cake, which I had a bite of and it was moist, delicious and generously portioned. Kevin announced that this cake was his favorite part of the meal “But I’m biased because i’m fat”.
With that our near-disaster last minute change of venue paid off beautifully. We managed to find a great new place with outstanding food. I love that I’ve lived here for 16 years and I can still discover new places like this. Thanks to my dining companions for being so adventurous with me. I will for sure be back.
Further reading: http://www.letseat.at/muzita
The Boy Who Ate San Diego 